Violin bow



G. M. LOTH.

VIOLIN BOW. APPLICATION FILED ocr. 24, 1921.

1,421,51 O. Patented July 4, 1922.

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UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAVE M. LOTH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VIOLIN. BOW.

To @Zlio/icm t may concern.'

Be it known that l, Gus'riivn M. Lo'rr-r, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Violin Bows, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to bowing devices for violins, and its object isto provide a device of this kind which permits the bow to be operatedwithout being held by the hand, both hands of the player being thus leftfree for fingering the strings of the violin. The player can thereforeuse the fingers of one hand to stop the strings, and the lingers of theother hand for picking the strings to produce an accompaniment to themelody being played, the method beinggof course, limited to relativelysimple melodies which can be produced on one string so as to leave thevother strings free for the pizzicato ac companiment.

nWith the object stated in view, the invention consists in a novelcombination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described andclaimed, and in order that the same may be better understood, referenceis had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device, a fragment only of the violin bowbeing shown; Fig. 2 is an edge view of the device; Fig. 3 is a sectionon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 and Fig. e is a perspective view illustratingthe manner in which the device is used.

Referring specifically to the drawing, 5 denotes the stick of a violinbow to which is applied a holder having a pair of bracket arms 6 and 7which are spaced some distance apart so that when the stick is fastenedto said arms, the points of attachment of the latter are spaced in thedirection of the length of the stick a distance to obtain a firm hold.The arms 6 and 7 are integrally or otherwise connected at their innerends, and here pivoted, as shown at 8 to a mouthpiece 9. A third bowholding arm 10 eX- tends laterally from arm 6 in the opposite direction-in which arm 7 extends.

The outer end of the bracket arm 7 has an enlargement 7El carrying ahook-bolt 11 which engages the stick 5, and is provided with a wing nut11a, which latter, when it is tightened up, clamps the stick against thepart 7 a. The outer end of the part 7a has a rearwardly projecting pin12 to which is pivoted, as shown at 12, a fork 13, which Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented July l4, 1922.

Application filedv October 24, 1921. Serial No. 510,020.

straddles the frog of the bow to keep the bow from twisting.

- The outer end of arm 6 carries a weight 111, and supports the bowstick 5 by a looped cord 15, which is slack to permit a limited amountof lateral play as shown dotted in Fig. 2. The outer end of arm 10 isattached to the bow stick by a cord 16 similar to the cord 15.

A cord 17 is connected at .its ends to the stick 5 adjacent Ato the endsof the latter, and is adapted to be placed over the players head to seatintermediate its ends againstthe back of the neck, as shown in Fig. 4.

Beneath the mouthpiece 9 is a chin-rest 18 which is connected to theformer by side bars 19 which rigidly connect and hold said mouthpieceand chin-rest in vertically spaced relation. -To the outer end ofbracket arm 10 is secured one end of a rearwardly extending brace bar 2Owhich is connected at its other end, as shown at 21 to the forward endof the chin-rest 18. The connection 21 is a pivotal one and is invertical alinement with the pivotal connection 8 between the mouthpiece9 and the arm 6.

In use, the player takes hold of the part 9 with his teeth, the part 18being placed to come under the players chin to relieve his mouth of theweight of the part 9. The bow can now be drawn across the strings of theviolin to sound the same by the player swinging` his head from one sideto the other, and also by using the mouth, this motion being transmittedto the bow through the hereinbefore connections of the part 9 with thebow stick 5. The arm 10 acts as a lateral brace to keep the bow frombuckling from the pull of the looped cord 17, and the weight 14 operatesto cause the bow to bear down on the strings of the violin with asufficient downward pressure to sound the same. The operation justdescribed is illustrated in Fig. l of the drawing. It will be evidentthat the bow operated as described leaves both hands of the player freeto finger the strings of the violin.

l claim:

1. A bowing device for violins comprising a mouthpiece adapted to begrasped by the players teeth, and provided with a chin-rest, andbow-supporting means connected to the outer end of the mouthpiece.

2. A bowing device for violins comprising a mouthpiece adapted to begrasped by the players teeth, and bow-supporting means connected to theouter end of the mouthpiece. A

3. A bowing device tol' violins comprising 11 mouthpiece adapted to begrasped hy the -phiyeifs teeth, und weighted bow-supporting meansconnected to the outei` end ot' the mouthpiece.

1. A bowing device for violins comprising zt mouthpiece, bow-supportingarms connected to the outer end ot the mouthpiece, and means forattaching the bow to Said arms,

In testimony whereof I :L'Hix my signatuie. 20

GU STVE M. LOTH.

